February16,2012

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith released the following statement after Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab received a life sentence in a federal courtroom this afternoon:

“The life sentence given to Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab by a federal court in Detroit this afternoon demonstrations that our federal court system is fully capable of bringing terrorist to justice. It is now clear, without a doubt, that the terrorist who sought kill innocent Americans will spend the rest of his life behind bars and far, far away from the battle field.

“I agree with Attorney General Holder that ‘today's sentence once again underscores the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in both incapacitating terrorists and gathering valuable intelligence from them.’ I applaud our domestic law enforcement agencies who played an active role in apprehending AbdulMutallab and bringing him to justice."